Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Currently the most important product of Chefs Feed is an
iPhone app that gives reviews of restaurants (even specific dishes) by over 600
chefs, for 15 American cities plus London. The San Francisco-based company was
founded in 2011 by brothers Steve and Jared Rivera, who hope to expand their chefs’
recommendations into video and print. The About Us page is here.

OVERALL GRADE: B
minus

The uncluttered Chefs Feed site is clearly designed with
mobile users in mind, and it’s aimed at promoting the app. To be clear: we’re
evaluating the About Us page that appears on the company’s website, not the
info that appears on the app.

Products/Services: B

The About Us
page starts with a catchy tag line: “I’ll have what they’re having.” It goes on
to name-drop celebrity chefs (Mario Batali, Wolfgang Puck, Thomas Keller) who
offer recommendations on the app. If you don’t have a long-established corporate
history, using big-bang names like this are a great substitute.

Below the brief description of what the app offers are
headings with teasers. We wish these were links to pages of samples, e.g., what
have chefs said about restaurants in our neighborhood? What kind of live
information can we expect to receive?

Below the teasers are pictures of some participating chefs,
with links to many more: well done.

The most innovative feature of this page is the section of
mentions in the media. Hover over the media logo and a callout from the article
pops up. In most cases, that’s all we need to know, so it’s a particularly
useful technique.

Personality: B

The personality of Chefs Feed is the chefs who contribute,
not the company’s founders (who aren’t even mentioned). Doubtless many people hungry
people consulting the app will know at least some of the chefs ... but surely
not all of them? Even though the website is made to promote the app, we wish it
offered links with at least minimal information on the chefs – even working
links to the chefs’ restaurants would help.

On the related Team
page, it’s fun not just to see photos of Chefs Feed key players but to learn
their favorite dishes. (Of course, I’m a person whose mouth waters just to read
the words “gnocchi @ Frascati.”) This idea can be adapted by anyone creating
any kind of About Us or business anniversary coverage. For example, in our book
for The
Pep Boys we profiled dozens of folks who work in the stores – and asked
them what their favorite cars were. Good use of CorporateHistory.net’s About
Us Commandment 3: Reveal Thy Personality.

Accessibility: C

There is no Contact page, but the footer of every page has a
snail-mail address, phone, fax, and emails for general inquiries and media. Snail
mail and fax? How many people use these? But at least all the options are
there.

TAKEAWAY

We wouldn’t want to live without our favorite mobile apps.
But sometimes we like to plan ahead, and in those cases we’d like to have
information available on our desktop as well, where it’s easier to juggle
multiple pages, discuss an entry with a myopic spouse, or transfer info to our
contacts list. Humor customers who don’t run their whole lives on mobile
devices by giving them information on the website as well: there’s still a lot
of money in that demographic.

Does your Web site’s “About Us” section
accurately convey your organization’s history and capabilities? Every two weeks
we evaluate one example, grading it in three areas that are key to potential
customers: Personality (Who are you?), Products/Services (What can you do for
us?), and Accessibility (How can we reach you?). To talk about your About Us
page, contact us!

Today’s example was chosen at random;
CorporateHistory.net has no ties to this company.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Enjoyed the interview with Arrigo Berni, CEO of Moleskine, on American Public Media's "Marketplace" on May 20, 2013. Notebook maker Moleskine went public in April. Italian company, quality product, strong message: what's not to like? My favorite quote by Berni:

“There are certain dimensions of our life where digital technology is
definitely providing a benefit, an advantage, to us, but
there are other dimensions, maybe closer to what human beings are and
the physical experience of interacting with physical products. The
emotional dimension where technology is at a disadvantage, in fact,
compared to paper.”

Monday, May 13, 2013

Longwood Gardens, in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, is a
horticultural mecca of over 1,000 acres – one of the leading botanical gardens
in the United States. Situated on land purchased from William Penn, it was
opened to the public as an arboretum in 1798 and was greatly expanded by Pierre
S. du Pont, who purchased the property in 1906. He spent decades developing the
conservatory, fountains, and other features. Since his death in 1954 it has
been operated by the Longwood Foundation. The main About Us page (Gardens /
History) is here.

OVERALL GRADE: A

Products/Services: A

We seldom see a site that covers all the bases of its own
corporate history: usually we have to seek out essential details on Wikipedia
or elsewhere on the web. The Story of
Longwood page is a rare exception and a great read. It covers the organization’s
entire history with appropriate weight
on the important items. And it has archival photos! A slight cavil there:
please, Longwood staff writers, add captions or ID tags. Even if the photo is
immediately referenced nearby, captions matter. Readers always read them.

Adding subheads is another minor change that would make a
big difference. Rather than “1700 to Present” (currently the only subhead), why
not “The Peirce Farm,” “Pierre du Pont,” “The Fountains,” and so on? Or we
suggest dividing the long time span into shorter chronological chunks.

Supplementary pages focus on non-botanical attractions that
might draw visitors to Longwood: the mansion, the organ, the carillon. We like
this as an illustration of our Commandment
2 of About Us pages: Know thy audience. Think about the types of people who
might be interested in your organization, and make a point of offering material
that will appeal to each. On all these pages, the sidebar features lovely
photos of flowers and scenes from the gardens to remind visitors to the site that
yes, they ought to visit Longwood.

All these great pages (under Gardens) are not the “official”
About Us page, which is reached via a link in the footer and only offers
information about Longwood’s tax status and major departments. The official
page could be livened up with links to these pages, each with a teaser and a
photo.

Personality: A

Longwood stresses that the gardens were the work of Pierre
du Pont, and describes his interests and goals. It states that the goal of the current
management is to continue his vision - the “innate sense of the garden as theater”
– while incorporating modern technology. Clear and effective: well done.

Accessibility: A

A link in the footer leads to a Contact page with
telephone numbers and emails for many specific departments and names. We get
the impression that the Longwood Gardens staff would be pleased to hear from us,
a pleasant change from filling out an online contact form that’s dispatched to
who knows whom, who knows where.

TAKEAWAY

In an age of tweets and videos, presenting a well-written
story with great illustrations is still one of the most attention-grabbing
things you can do. And kudos to the person who chose the banner photo: a
glimpse of the less formal gardens, a path, and a couple wearing jeans and
hugging. It subtly promotes Longwood Gardens as a casual spot to visit and feel
romantic. Very inviting!

Does your Web site’s “About Us” section
accurately convey your organization’s history and capabilities? Every two weeks
we evaluate one example, grading it in three areas that are key to potential
customers: Personality (Who are you?), Products/Services (What can you do for
us?), and Accessibility (How can we reach you?). To talk about your About Us
page, contact us!

Today’s example was chosen at random;
CorporateHistory.net has no ties to this company.

CorporateHistory.net can help you turn your company history into an effective and beautiful book, DVD, Web site, keynote speech, or campaign. Whether you want to celebrate a company anniversary, honor a retiring CEO, or strategize your corporate storytelling, CorporateHistory.net can help. We believe organizations suffer when their memory erodes, just as people do. Your institutional memory is a stranded asset until you put it to work. Then it becomes a powerful, cost-effective tool for marketing, community relations, and employee pride.Please visit our website:http://www.corporatehistory.net/